Morecambe railway station

Morecambe National Rail
View from terminus end of Morecambe platforms, 2009
Location
Place Morecambe
Local authority Lancaster
Coordinates 54°04′12″N 2°52′12″W / 54.070°N 2.870°W / 54.070; -2.870Coordinates: 54°04′12″N 2°52′12″W / 54.070°N 2.870°W / 54.070; -2.870
Grid reference SD432641
Operations
Station code MCM
Managed by Northern
Number of platforms 2
DfT category F1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Decrease 0.209 million
2013/14 Increase 0.217 million
2014/15 Increase 0.245 million
2015/16 Decrease 0.235 million
2016/17 Increase 0.238 million
History
29 May 1994 Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Morecambe from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal
Morecambe,
Lancaster & Heysham Port
West Coast Main Line
north
Bare Lane
Morecambe
Heysham Portferry/water interchange
 Lancaster
West Coast Main Line
south

Morecambe railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Morecambe in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Morecambe Branch Line from Lancaster to Heysham. The current truncated two-platform station was opened in 1994 to replace the Midland Railway's earlier Morecambe Promenade terminus situated some 400 m (440 yd) further west, closer to the town's sea front. The old station building remains in use as a pub and restaurant, but its platforms have been demolished and the site is now occupied by a cinema and the Morecambe indoor market. That station was itself a replacement for the North Western Railway's original two-platform terminus at Northumberland Street (opened in 1851 and closed in March 1907), which was located almost exactly on the same site as the current station and ticket office.

Facilities

Recently a modern ticket office was opened and passenger numbers have increased by 8% over the last five years. Services are operated by variety of diesel multiple units, including Class 144, Class 150, Class 153 and Class 156 sets.

Terminating passenger services usually run into Platform 1. However, trains to/from Heysham must use the Platform 2 line in order to reverse and gain access to the single track Heysham branch. The lines to Platforms 1 and 2 connect 1.6 miles away at a junction east of Bare Lane station. Heysham services (currently one return trip per day Mon-Sat and two on summer Sundays) access the Heysham section by means of a ground frame at the junction which is released by Preston signalling centre (which has supervised the branch since the closure of Bare Lane signal box in December 2012) and operated by the train crew.

The ticket office is staffed from the early morning until mid-afternoon, six days per week (closed Sundays). Passengers must purchase their tickets on the train or in advance at other times. A waiting shelter is provided, along with a P.A system and digital information screens.[1] There is step-free access to the platform from the station entrance and ticket office.[2]

A diagram of the current track layout, which was heavily rationalised since the closure of Promenade station in 1994

Services

The station in 1984

The station is served by Northern local services, which operate as a regular Lancaster-Morecambe shuttle.[3] There are also three daily longer-distance services from Morecambe to Skipton and Leeds via the Leeds to Morecambe Line (three also on Sundays)[4]. Additionally, there is a limited service (one each way Mon-Sat and on Sundays in summer only) to Heysham, connecting with the ferry to the Isle of Man. Trains for Heysham must reverse at Morecambe.

Additionally the first train each weekday morning is a service from Barrow-in-Furness (run by TransPennine Express until April 2016), which diverts from its route to Windermere. This service calls at Lancaster, Bare Lane and Morecambe, before reversing, calling at Bare Lane again, then rejoining the West Coast Main Line and continuing via Carnforth. This runs purely to provide a token parliamentary service over the Bare Lane to Hest Bank curve, which has not otherwise been used for passenger trains on a regular basis since trains from Leeds were diverted via Lancaster in 1987.

Future Improvements

The new Northern franchise agreement (starting on 1 April 2016) includes provision for additional trains on the Leeds route - three additional weekday services were planned to operate each way from May 2018 (with trains timed to improve commuting & leisure opportunities at either end of the route) and one additional train each way on Sundays (the additional trains however start/terminate at Lancaster).[5] These changes were however delayed to the May 2019 timetable change.[6] Pacer DMUs will also disappear from the route (and all other services in Northern England) by December 2019.

References

  1. ↑ Morecambe station Visit North West; Retrieved 1 December 2016
  2. ↑ Morecambe station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 1 December 2016
  3. ↑ Table 98 National Rail timetable, May 2018
  4. ↑ Table 42 National Rail timetable, May 2018
  5. ↑ Northern Franchise Improvements - DfT
  6. ↑ https://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/no-december-timetable-changes-for-eight-tocs
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Bare Lane   Northern
Leeds to Morecambe Line		   Terminus
Bare Lane   Northern
Morecambe Branch Line		   Trains reverse
Heysham Port
(Limited service)		    
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